The end of LP collecting????


I don't know about most of you but I am a joe six pack fince kind of guy and it bums me out that I keep seeing prices of equipment becaome more and more rediculous.That's why, say with amplification I ike a companies like Quicksilver,Rogue,VTL etc where just getting a set up that sound sbetter than mid-fi (and of course there budget companies for source compenet and spoeakers) where buying their products does not insult your inteliigence,But being a guy whao over tha past 6 years ghhas amazzes a pretty decent collection of LP's off EBAY the party seesms to be over.Yes we all wish we bought items before we di (Micorsoft in '83) or a split window Corvette jst to store away the wholeLP thing at least one ebay (which dtermines prices at shows and shops) the prices over the past 12 or pwerhaps 18 months has just gotten totally out of hand.Lp's that could get over the couple of years say $60 in mint conditon (like a Prestige Miles) not regularly go for $100..Bassically prices have doubled or trippled in one year.I know supply /demand but the supply has been static but I find it weird that everyone and his cousin finally disocvered Ebay even though it's been a forum for years.Blue Notesin particular have eneded up primarily Japan for quite some time but now the prices have just gobne nuts.Yes a goofd copy of a lowproduction item like Tina Brooks (made propular by the Mosaic set wheu\ic revived (or in fact started his fame-read his bio it was sad a talented guy who recorded as a dideman for a few Blue Note guys like McLean,Hubbard, or Burrell) but he himself recoded 4 LP's for Lyon and Wollf.But sales were so poor with the first titled "True Blue" that the other 3 staid in the can until Cuscuna brought them out on Mosaic.all of a suden copies would reguarlly go for $1500 when 10 yeas before they were bought for $5 in some cut out bin.But now a regular Mobley 1500 series LP will go for $2K.Barney Wilen excellent (Buy it for $8 on CD on Vogue) goes for $2500.And jusyt last week I sawa Sihab Shihab "With The Dabish Radio Orchestra ": go for $1800 pounds.You do the conversion.Iam satisfied with my $25 CD re-issue.But it's all taken the fun out of it for me siunce the priceing ( three or four players WILL get an LP they want no matter what.I guess if I was woth a few million I woulkd be that guy.I am only glad that since 1995 or so with 2 bit K2 [processing CD's are finally soundiong acceptable not terribel like they did for the fisrt fifteen years of "the ultimate media".And some red book CD's sound as good as SACD's.Still there is nothing more depressing than wanmting a say Prestige LP and only having the CD otion (foget the OJC LP's.Re-melt wax combine with re-melt something that has made LP's in general suck sinc the late 60's).Thank goodness for comapines like Clasic Records which have made soemre-0issue using original tapes,stampers etc and in some cases sound as f\good as the oru\iginal LP>And then there are comanies like Mapple shade which use no board for EQ,compression, etc-no board at all just mike to tape.Then there is the Japanese comany Venus whose "24 Bit Hyper Magnum Sound" is incredible either on CD or LP.Take the terrrfic Archie Shepp Ballad LP's like "True Blue","Tru Romance' etc (four in all I think)The Lp's have a great tactile sound and warmth that only Lp's cab provide but of course you lose some of the fdynamic range you get with CD's.And all of this from digital tape so nobody can tell me that LP'scan only sound good with analogue tape-these LP's are great.I stopped running the jazz section of CD stereo equipment store 4 years ago and just before i left did CVD's start to sound "right".SACD's,DVD Audio,BlueLight or other digital formats maybe the salvation for a guy like me.But there some of my jazz Lp's that maybe got pressed in a few hundred companies and I am doubtfull all of them will make it to market.So maybe I should just borrow my freinds trumpet and play taps for my beloved hobby.The groove factor of the cover srt and it's size,finding a clean flat edge preesing with adep grove with "Rudy Van Gelder" and the little "ear mark(swirl) that indicated a fuisrt press well it's a pleasure that isn't going to vcome down the pipe that ofetn and while I like the fact that mire and mre folks seem to be digging the "New Thing" that is now 40 or 50 years old great the recent spike of LP's is just plain depressing.
Chazzbo
chazzbo
Plinko, what makes you think there is any disgrace? I'm serious. I agree with Qdrone, to point out in others a disgraceful act, shame on you, what's wrong with you! Is it some how OK to go out and earn a buck wherever else, Oh! but not on the sacred Lp? Bull@#$%! Every loaf of bread you eat has a hundred taxes and profits associated with it why not the LP? That's some of the most hypocritical stuff I have heard on A'gon. I mean no personal offense to you my friend but, I strongly disagree with your ideas. Sorry.
i am not against used LP's becoming a commodity rather than an 'art' form or a vehicle to play music. why not. Price them right out of my reach. s 'ok.

used record stores, used clothing stores, used cars, ... make them an upper tier product.

So I won't be flipping thru old LPs in a dusty store anymore. I can buy 'brand new' LPs for 15+ and for that I am lucky.
I'll admit my wording was too strong but I simply don't find it attractive. You're either in it for the music or not. Profit should be the least concern if not nil concern but one post indicated it was the central concern so I thought I would offer thoughts from the other end of the spectrum. Yeah, I did it rather smugly. I'll try to do better next time. Apologies.

I'd rather talk lps with music fans than business men anyday. For the record, I'm not concerned with being consistent or winning over others to my philosophy. If you're out there buying lps for the sole reason of profit, I have little respect for you as a fellow music lover. Can I still have respect for you as a person? Sure. Just like I have little respect for those people who bought and sold houses in the same day at profit, at the height of the real estate boom. I'll sell my house for more than I paid for it in a couple of years but at least I enjoyed it, just like the lps. Hypocritical? Sure, you bet.
Collecting vinyl for profit is no different than wine, stamps, coins, art, etc. The hobbyist is no more (or less) righteous than the entrepreneur looking to make a buck. Stop your whining and grow up.
I don't think the prices on Ebay are so outrageous when you consider what this portal provides (well OK a few bidders go way overboard). But how else would you access such an exceptional archive of jazz records? It would have taken me multiple lifetimes to find the stuff that I can find with a few keystrokes on Ebay. Yes, this is a quality over quantity solution. If you are into $1.99 LP's then forget about Ebay but if you are into pristine copies of classic jazz from the 50's that you could only dream about possibly finding someday, then Ebay is a dream come true. My average LP purchase on Ebay is $70 - $100 for a classic Prestige, Savoy, Blue Note etc. I consider it a deal since I would spend this much or more in gas and other expenses just to find such items and here others find them for me and I can purchase them with a few keystrokes from my PC. This is the golden age of LP collecting from my perspective!